Meg Hillier, Chair, Public Accounts Committee

Bio

Meg Hillier has been MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch since 2005. She served as a shadow junior minister in the Home Office from May 2010 to October 2010, and as shadow secretary of state for energy and climate change from October 2010 to October 2011.

In 2015, Hillier was elected as chair of the Public Accounts Committee, taking over from Margaret Hodge.

Before her time as an MP, Hillier was on the London Assembly, representing Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest and served as a local councillor for eight years. She was also mayor of Islington between 1988-89.

Why did Hillier make the Financial Power List 2018?

The PAC has already had an explosive start to 2018 with the release of the committee’s report into HMRC performance last year. Criticising HMRC’s handling of its transformation programme, Hillier will be at the forefront of holding HMRC to account over how it plans to manage competing priorities and emerging challenges in 2018. With HMRC due to report to the committee in March, Hillier will be preparing herself for Round Two, but it’s not likely to be the last battle that PAC enters into with HMRC this year.

Public Accounts Committee

The Public Accounts Committee investigates the spending of public money, looking at the value for money of public spending in terms of the economy, efficiency and effectiveness. It holds the government and civil servants to accounts over the delivery of public services.

The PAC also examines public bodies and private companies providing public services.

There are currently 16 members on the PAC across the Labour Party, Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party.